IdeaJones

Tag: u.s.

  • Imperium Neptuni Regis… The Shellback

    Imperium Neptuni Regis… The Shellback

    Neptune and Naked Women

    Imperium Neptuni Regis: The Ancient Order of the Deep

    Another certificate from WWII, again from the USS General Harry Taylor (for more about that ship, see the post on The Domain of the Golden Dragon). Here, the certificate a sailor got when he became a “shellback,” a sailor who had crossed the equator. Before that, he would have been a “tadpole.”

    The tradition, in addition to boosting morale, may have also indicated to other sailors that this one could handle long sea voyages. That’s something you need to know during times of war, when voyages can end up being far longer and more dangerous than expected. There can be an initiation ceremony to go with the certificate, although not always. Conditions didn’t always permit it. Some of the ceremonies described sound like the more benign college fraternity hazing rituals, with tests of strength or endurance, and a fair amount of rough-housing.

    Note the women on the certificate. This being WWII, women served primarily in medical services, administration or training. They weren’t part of the ship’s regular crew. These young guys could go a long time without seeing many women, or any. So no wonder the certificate features lots of naked women. The mermaids in the upper corners you would expect to find in a certificate featuring Neptune, but unlike the Golden Dragon certificate, there are also human women swimming around naked (how are they breathing?), including two who are about to get in trouble with an octopus and a crab.

    I could chalk up the representation of naked women to the era, but let’s face it, what else does a young, straight, healthy guy dream of? Well yes, food… the only thing that would make this a more complete fantasy would be if the women were naked and holding trays of steaks and baked potatoes.

    The sailor who earned this (whose name has been removed for the post) was a big fan of steak and potatoes. He had his problems with women.

     

  • WWII… Domain of the Golden Dragon

    WWII… Domain of the Golden Dragon

    By virtue of the power of The Golden Dragon…

    The Domain of the Golden Dragon

    This is a certificate awarded during WWII (the recipient’s name has been removed for this picture). Certificates were awarded to Navy sailors who crossed the International Date Line aboard ship. The recipient of this certificate earned both this one and the Imperium Neptuni Regis (more about that in another post).

    With so much activity during WWII, there probably wasn’t much of an award ceremony. There are some interesting things to note here, though…

    The date is listed as “Censored,” and only the longitude is filled in. This is common for WWII paperwork. Security was a serious consideration (still is), and if the enemy knew where ships had been and were, they could guess where they were headed.

    The ship given is the U.S.S. Harry Taylor. The Harry Taylor was a General G.O. Squier Class Transport, or troop carrier that was used in WWII from 1944 to 1946.  Thousands of soldiers slept in its bunks and walked its decks en route to battle or coming home. After that, it transported all sorts of people, including refugees. It made over 30 trips ferrying refugees to their new homes, then was used to track missiles. Now? It’s part of an artificial reef helping to protect marine life.

    The sailor who earned this certificate? He survived WWII, although many of his friends did not. He got married, had kids, tried to work though the problems he carried with him, some of them due to his wartime experiences. Is there more to that story? Of course. But for now, he rests, under the protection of the Golden Dragon.

    Here’s a link to the remembrances of a soldier transported on the Harry Taylor during WWII: https://www.guideposts.org/how-we-help/military-outreach/the-uss-general-harry-taylor-the-answer-to-a-soldiers-prayer

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  • Doing Your Civic Doody

    Doing Your Civic Doody

    We will never forget this election year. Oh, we'll try, but we'll never forget.
    We will never forget this election year. Oh, we’ll try, but we’ll never forget.

    Lord, I’m looking forward to the end of this election.

    I envy people who came of age in the 60s. Who knows what kind of President JFK would have been long-term, but they at least had the chance to be idealistic.

    It was bad enough when the “bleeding heart liberals” faced off against the “heartless right-wingers.” The language has gotten harsher. This time, it sounds as if all sides believe the other side is no longer human, not just mistaken, but evil. Only one side gets heard in the end, because the winning side continues to paint the losing side as tainted, untouchable. We’re giving up the ability to become one country after the votes are tallied.

    While I’ve spoken out about the issues and the candidates in this election, I’ve tried to avoid demonizing or deifying any side. Back someone into a corner, and his only way out is to fight you. Everyone is worried, scared, tense and tired. Not the best condition in which to make decisions. We have to leave each other room to negotiate our shared future regardless of who wins the election.

    My tolerance does not extend to the candidates themselves and their handlers. One especially. I understand how someone could support Donald Trump in the beginning, and once there, with people saying you’re stupid or worse, switching requires eating a huge slice of humble pie. They didn’t leave you any way out with your pride intact.

    But if you can do it, if you can manage to choke down that much humility and admit he fooled you, know that at least one person admires you for that. It is hard to say you’re wrong. I hate admitting I’m wrong. So if you look at the way he hasn’t released his tax records when he’s the only candidate in decades not to do that, the way he says things and then says he didn’t say them when they’ve been recorded and it’s irrefutable that he did, if you can see that you thought you were getting a can-do businessman, but what he’s selling you is a hazardous, toxic man-baby who would lie to your face, use you and discard you in a  heartbeat, then I and every other reasonable, decent person in this country, possibly around the world, will owe you our respect.  Everyone gets fooled from time to time, but it takes a lot to admit it.

    It’s not you I don’t respect — it’s him. You’re not evil. You’re not stupid. You got conned. It happens to most of us. Even if you can’t quite admit it publicly, which is even harder, admit it when you vote your ballot and kick this toxic con artist where it will pain him most — in his ego. You’re in the position to give him the lesson he desperately needs.

    And once it’s over, we all need to put down our darts and knives and come together to keep our government working on the problems we need it to handle. So those who have been demonizing the opposition will have to swallow those “I told you so’s” unsaid, refrain from saying or posting that perfect insult, stop being unmitigated asshats, and work for the common good without name-calling. Mason Cooley once said, “Enjoy an insult as you deliver it, before you learn its cost.” The people you demonize will not work with you. If you want things to get better, you’re going to have to leave those witty barbs unsaid.

    We need to get back to working with each other, talking to each other, and admiring posts of each others’ lunches and pets. It won’t be easy, but it will feel good.

    If we’ve ever wanted to be superheroes, now’s our chance.